Créole
Créole is a small unaligned alliance. The alliance may be considered neutral by charter (quoted below) but does not neatly fit the established archetype and prefers to be considered as autonomous and generally peaceful. It is the unusual practice and distinguishing feature of Créole to grant majority access forum masking to a fair number of friendly diplomats and old friends. Créole believes this large body of active foreigners, at times larger than the alliance itself, plays a key role in the vitality of internal discussions and the overall sense of community the alliance projects. The reality that most Créole members, whether on their first or second nations, have involved careers reaching back into the GWI and GWII eras, combined with the high level of those that self describe as "retired" amongst both guests and members of the alliance, contributes heavily to the overall nature of the alliance and maintaining peace amongst those from divergent political centers. In concern to Créole's name and flag (quoted from the OWF). History Créole's founding members are ex-FCC government dating back to the pre-Citadel era. Despite several of these members being an active part of the bloc's founding, internal disagreements within both the alliance and bloc eventually led to their departure to Farkistan where they had close ties and several had served previously as ambassadors. As a result Créole has strong roots and cultural heritage borrowed from both alliances, and eventually become the home to a majority of members from the now defunct FCC. It is worth noting that talks within this core group concerning the creation of a new small neutral alliance can be traced back as far as August 2007. During formation Créole came together under the heavily ex-Fark Aloha alliance affiliation, operating separate forums and some level of a dual membership system before launching out of their own officially on August 3 under independent protective edicts from both the Liquor Cabinet and Farkistan. This decision was reached to take advantage of Aloha's earlier launch date and was seen as mutually beneficial due to the close ties between members of both alliances. This chapter of history however has somewhat blurred the creation date of Créole, which may be taken as early as May 1 when the alliance's first forums were launched; notably as Aloha later went into decline with several members coming to join Créole. The alliance accepts August 3, 2009 as its true genesis despite having officially received diplomats for months beforehand, as it marks the first clear and unambiguous moment Créole existed in its proper form. On September 18, 2009 the Liquor Cabinet's protective edict concerning Créole was quietly transferred over to the New Polar Order, making Créole one of few, if not the first, alliances in Cyber Nations to be protected by two un-allied top ten (and later, before the PB-NpO War, two top five) alliances simultaneously. On December 28, 2009 Créole confirmed its tenth member while maintaining an average nation strength of just over 81,000 (at the time the ~3.8% of all nations) to close out the new year. On January 28, 2010 Créole approved its second charter and crossed the million nation strength mark with an average nation strength of just over 93,000 (at the time the ~2.14% mark of all nations), placing it in the top 120 alliances by strength. On August 3, 2010 Créole confirmed its fifteenth member having peaked at nearly 107,000 average nation strength (at the time the ~1.25% mark of all nations). Shortly after the alliance rose to #78 out of all alliances as rated by nation strength. On November 28, 2010 Créole confirmed its twentieth member simultaneously pushing the alliance past two million nation strength and entering the alliance on the All Alliances list at #68 in total strength and with the highest average strength of any alliance at 102,000 (at the time the ~2.59% mark of all nations). It is considered by some that Créole played a small role in the NEW-DF War as several of its members temporally joined Farkistan, as a counter to a number of Poison Clan's upper tier nations joining NEW for the duration of the war, and later returned to the alliance without incident. Créole as an alliance explicitly never joined the war and maintained normal and friendly relations with members of Pandora's Box throughout and after the incident. Créole originally formed under the precept of neutrality but has altered itself over the years with changes in its goals and membership. As of January 13, 2011 Créole officially decided to drop the usage of the word "neutral" in its language in place of "autonomous" which it felt more accurately reflected the reality of its endeavors. On April 25, 2011 the unilateral declarations of protection by both Farkistan and the New Polar Order were retired at Créole's request in recognition of the alliance's ability to exist independently of the protection of external powers. On June 5, 2011 with nearly 2.5 million NS Créole entered the top 50 alliances (#50) as rated by strength, #37 in total technology, and with a world leading average nation strength of 107,500 NS (at the time the ~2.65% mark of all nations). On September 7, 2011 Créole issued a joint announcement with the Rosular Kingdom concerning the specific targeting of independent alliances, serving as a public declaration that an unprovoked attack on one would be viewed as a direct threat to the other. While Créole is forbidden by charter from signing treaties, the announcement was unanimously considered within the alliance to be a public clarification of its views as to specific circumstances that may lead the alliance to trigger its universal right to defend its friends. Charter Preamble Créole reserves the right to defend whomever we deem worthy of our help no matter what our formal relationship with them, and to assist those we consider friends when called upon to do so. Créole asserts its fundamental right to exist unfettered from foreign control and harassment and may regard any attack on its privacy and sovereignty, military or otherwise, as an act of war. It is the belief of this alliance that formal treaties draw emphasis away from the actual bonds of friendship that serve as a connection between alliances and replaces them with legal formality. Too often treaties have been proliferated in the place of ongoing intimacy and served merely as a formula to engage or withdraw from conflicts at will, a right that we regard as already manifest in our sovereignty. The alliance of Créole thus forswears the signing of any treaty large or small and will let circumstance, affection, our beliefs and our honor serve and guide us in our affairs. Membership Rights and Mutual Responsibilities Each full member of the alliance is granted a vote in all matters and the right to block any new applicant from full membership, as outlined in the charter, until they feel their concerns have been mitigated. Every member of the alliance, probationary or full, is expected within the bounds of their abilities to come to the defense of the alliance in times of war. Complete access to the entirety of the alliance forums is reserved for each full member of the alliance. Any member joining or applying to the alliance agrees to abstain from declaring unapproved wars or spy activity that is offensively oriented in nature while they remain on the Créole AA and for ten days after they leave the Créole alliance affiliation. Application Given the nature of the alliance’s governance and trust placed upon each member of Créole, great weight is placed upon an individual wishing to join to prove they will fit in with the current membership. The application process not only decides whether the alliance wishes to accept them but also allows the applicant to decide if they truly want to be a member of the alliance and abide by its rules. Applicants wishing to join must first contact the alliance at which point a private application thread will be created for them. At this time the applicant may temporarily switch into Créole’s alliance affiliation. After their application thread has been posted a voting thread for their admission, not visible to them, will be created and run for a week requiring a two thirds majority to pass. Special to this circumstance any voting member may cast a vote of "hold" which serves as an abstention but if added into the total votes prevents either a two third vote for the ayes, or a one third vote for the nays, extends the timeline of the vote until either criterion is met. Once admitted they will be notified and masked as a probationary member. As a probationary member they will enjoy all privileges afforded to a full member of the alliance with three exceptions, they may not vote or hold office and their access to the most secure levels of the forum may be limited. Upon being masked as a probationary member a voting thread outside their view will be created for their full admittance. This vote requires a unanimous decision from the alliance to pass. In contrast to a normal poll, voting alliance members will be given thirty days to declare a non-anonymous block on the probationary member’s status. After this period passes they will be admitted as a full member the moment all blocks are removed from their probation. At the request of any full member a vote may be started to remove a probationary member, such a vote requires one third of the entire voting membership to pass. Any unsuccessful threads of this nature will be deleted upon full admission of the member. Any applicants or probationary members removed or resigning from the application process have a week to remove themselves from the alliance affiliation, affording them time to safely move on. All admission related threads not specially noted to be deleted in this charter will be left for view of all full members. Anyone leaving the alliance during their application process will restart as if a new applicant. Governance Créole is a direct democracy that functions on tight personal ties and volunteerism on the part of its membership. There is thusly no leadership to speak of other than those who take the largest role in its daily activities. All decisions that involve the alliance as a whole must be put forth for a membership vote. This vote may run no shorter than a week from its creation unless otherwise adjusted by a process outlined in this charter. Each full member of the alliance is allowed to cast one vote per issue. Normal votes pass with a two thirds majority of those who choose to participate. Failed votes can not alter the status quo, i.e. a vote to “not enter the war” would prohibit engagement if passed but would not result in war if it fails. Normal votes gaining two thirds of the voting membership’s approval may be closed and considered passed once that mark is achieved, similarly for votes gaining over one thirds of the voting membership against them. Votes to alter the charter require a four fifths majority of the voting membership. All charter votes must run the full length of a week. Abstentions count as removing oneself from the tally of alliance voters. Automatic abstentions may be declared by those expecting a prolonged absence. Elected Positions It is recognized that many alliance decisions are dependent upon the constraints of time and demand an accelerated path. In order to facilitate the decision making process three members of the alliance shall be elected to the position of administrator. These administrators may, by a two thirds majority, shorten the length of a voting period, outside of an election, application or charter amendment, to a length no shorter than twenty-four hours from the start of the poll, or twelve hours for the declaration of a defensive war. By a two thirds majority they may also extend any type of voting period other than an election. In order to facilitate the smooth running of the Créole forums these administrators will be granted administration rights to the forum for the duration of their term. Elections In the circumstance that an elected member is unable, or unwilling, to fulfill their term an election will be held. This election will consist of a two day nomination process followed by a three day vote. Only self nominations will be considered official. If a resigning administrator is unable to hold their position for the duration of the voting process they will be stood in for by the person who gained the second most votes in the last election until the election finishes. This rule may be extended back as many places, followed by as many election cycles as necessary to find willing interim officials. An unannounced absence of five days as judged by forum time stamps may be considered an inability to serve. Additionally a vote to hold a new election for all three positions may be cast requiring a one third minority to pass. In this scenario the nomination period is extended out to three days and the voting will last five. Each voting member may cast three votes and the three candidates with the most votes are elected. All ties are decided by a game of chance agreed upon by the relevant parties. Service to elected positions is not compulsory. Diplomats Foreign diplomats and guests to Créole are expected to follow the same code of conduct that we expect from our membership while on our forums. Violation of this policy will be considered possible grounds for polite removal. Any information presented to Créole by a foreign national is assumed to be in accordance with their alliance’s security policy. Créole does not solicit sensitive information and if it is believed that any intelligence received is in grave violation of this policy the alliance will endeavor to notify all parties involved. In recognition of the strong personal ties that alliances form with the diplomats they work with Créole believes in granting certain foreign guests considerable access to our forums. This status is afforded or removed in accordance to the normal voting procedures of the alliance. Removal and Bans The removal of a member or guest of the alliance is not an endeavor to be taken lightly. Should such a grave case of misconduct arise that it requires immediate action it is the reserved right of any elected administrator to suspend the violator’s account and if applicable membership until the matter can be resolved through parliamentary procedures. Should such a scenario ever arise the accused is entitled to a timely summary of the charges leveled against them and is to be given a chance to offer their case, plea or rebuttal before the verdict is delivered. External links *Créole Forums *Créole Charter Alliance announcements *Notice of Protected Status (defunct) *Protected Status Shift (defunct) *Dye mon, gen mon *Concord (OBR-Créole) See also